Archivio Report

GRANTS FOR NOBEL

Project for the assignment of grants for the translation of the work I premi Nobel italiani

Stemming from an original idea, I premi Nobel italiani was edited by a committee set up by the University of Bologna with support from the SEPS, whose aim it was to bring to the forefront and make known Italian Nobel Prize winners through a study carried out with a fresh approach. In this work, each leading figure has been analyzed in relation both to the reasons for the prize and to its sociocultural consequences. The study is the result of the original work of a team of more than 30 scholars and researchers from the University of Bologna and from other universities, backed up by a large and experienced editorial staff. Indeed, all work on the book was coordinated by a reputable research committee, operating under supervision of an SEPS scientific commission.

Further worth mentioning is the decision to call attention not only to the 20 Nobel Prize winners, but also to the figure of Enrico Bombieri, the 1974 winner of the Fields Medal, the most coveted international award in mathematics, a branch of great scientific value not taken into account by Nobel Prizes.

To aid the international diffusion of this study, the SEPS will provide financial support to publishers interested in undertaking its translation in other languages. The measure of the grant will be determined through the assessment of the proposals put forward by the international publishers themselves.

To facilitate the project, the SEPS will transfer the copyrights free of charge, send interested parties 3 copies of the book and will support the promotion of the translated text.

To participate in the project, publishers have to complete the appropriate application form belowand provide the requested documentation. The SEPS will evaluate requests and finance the projects it deems worthy.

Book summary

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been the most important international recognition in the field of knowledge. The relationship between Alfred Nobel and Italy dates back to the very origin of the prize. Alfred Nobel elaborated his will during his stay in Sanremo, where he spent the last six years of his life. His last wish was to reward those who conferred the “greatest benefit on mankind” by setting up a fund that would ensure their symbolic and material gratification. It is now indisputable that the people awarded a Nobel Prize have given an important contribution to the advancement of humanity’s cultural and scientific knowledge, and that Italy has offered in every field personalities of undeniable international stature, such as Guglielmo Marconi, Enrico Fermi, Rita Levi-Montalcini, Franco Modigliani, Giosue Carducci, Luigi Pirandello and Eugenio Montale.

For these reasons, the SEPS views the Nobel Prize as an objective, effective and internationally recognized tool and parameter with which to identify, rediscover and in some cases perhaps “bring back to light” some of the most prominent figures that Italy has been able to produce throughout the 20th century and during the first part of the new millennium.

Contrary to what one might think, not all Italian Nobel Prize winners achieved and maintained a fame equal to their contribution to society. To this day some of them are little studied and little known, and until now there was a lack of texts analyzing in depth all the elements specifically linked to the assignment of the prize, from the inquiry into the reasons for the assignment to the consequences of the latter on the scientific and cultural landscape.

Thus, the original work I premi Nobel italianiis the result of an innovative project of great scientific interest, which aims to bring together within a single framework disciplinary fields that are extremely diverse and to share with a broad public salient moments in the history of Italian and international knowledge. Indeed, it is impossible to retrace the scientific path of Nobel Prize winners in purely nationalistic terms: it was precisely the international dimension (in logistical terms as well) of their research, and of the outcome of their research, that made these people worthy of the prize. It is only fair, then, that this text should be allowed to circulate in other countries and in other languages, abiding by the idea of universality of knowledge that inspires the SEPS’ activities.

This research possesses the following elements of originality:

- All the writings have never been published before;

- For the first time, all Italian Nobel Prize winners are investigated in a single study;

- For the first time, special attention is drawn to the sociocultural consequences and ramifications of the assignment of the prize;

- A specific investigation is carried out into the criteria for the award of Nobel Prizes;

- This work is made up of never-before-published and updated historical-iconographic research on original sources and archive material;

- All the professionals involved are researchers, scholars and experts in each field of reference.